I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas: Alpena, MI 12-22-2012-->12-28-2012

Hello fellow bloggers!

So I just spent the last week up in my hometown of Alpena, MI with my mom's entire side of the family (minus a few). Sixteen people. Twelve in one house. Yeah, as you can see it was pretty packed. I just can't even believe that we all made it work without any big drama! Crazy right? So the first day my mom, Uncle John, and I spent the night in Frankenmuth, MI, a cute little German town an hour or so north of Detroit. While we were there we went to a cute little shopping center home of Season 7 of Cupcake War Winner's: Sugar High. It was pretty cute and they had AMAZING cupcakes. For those of you who don't know, cake is one of my favoriteeeee foods (or sweets really ;) ). They also had an ENTIRE store of all Tervis Tumblers (I guess those are common but I had never seen one) so I picked up a Duke tumbler for Madison! We also stopped by Bronner's Christmasland the biggest Christmas store in the entire country! It was crazy. We went on the 23rd so it was super packed since it was the two days before Christmas. As some of you know, Madison and I have started collecting pieces of the Grinch land for our apartment and so I got to see the whole set up of Whoville and buy some pieces that are not available anywhere else. Here are some pictures from Bronner's and Frankenmuth:

That same day we went to a lighthouse in Harrisville and saw a beautiful lighthouse (one of my favorite things). It was really different seeing one in the snow but it was breathtaking. Near the lighthouse was a little school house that was set up just as it would have been back in the day. That was a really cool experience that I was not planning on having so it was a bonus for sure!

Next we spent most of the other days hanging out Ristow style which means playing lots of card games and dominoes as well as eating lots of ice cream and playing Donkey Kong (which we finally upgraded to the Wii thanks to Reegan). I got to go and visit the bookstore where I had my first signing and they still had everything up and displayed in the local authors section which was super cool for me. On Christmas Eve we went to the candle light service at my Grandma's church. Which was really neat but we sang probably ten verses of Oh Holy Night (I didn't know that many existed). Afterwards we went to leave and my Aunt's car didn't start so while it was getting jumped I taught my grandma how to wobble in the parking lot while it snowed. Awesome. Later I got to decorate sugar cookies with some of my cousins which was also fun but we definitely had WAY to many cookies in that household. Probably three quarters of them didn't get eaten by the time we all left. Also Latoya and I tried making a baby snowman out of the pathetic snow that had landed, but it still was a white Christmas in our minds! I got to go and have a lunch date with my oldest girl friend at Mandarin Garden a local Chinese restaurant that has been our favorite lunch date location since two thousand and eight. Then we went to see This Is 40 which my whole family hated, but I actually loved it! It really portrayed the age time and the kids are so dang cute. And if you've seen knocked up, Jodi returns who was one of my favorite characters from that movie and made this movie super hilarious also. That night my for real oldest friend Cam came over to play dominoes and catch up which was awesome since I didn't get to see him when I was in Michigan in July. The next morning we headed back to Detroit and flew back this morning! So crazy. Of course we ran into delays but that was alright we made it home and that is what matters. 

It was such a nice Christmas spent with my whole family in one of my favorite spots in the whole world. The memories in that house all come rushing back when everyone is there, some good some bad, but it definitely made me appreciate it more. It was the first Christmas I have spent up there since we moved which means that my last Christmas there was in 1998! So fourteen years! So insane. Well thats all for now! Can't wait to share more adventures soon!

Xoxo, 

Olivia :)

Can We Pretend That Airplanes In the Night Sky Are Like Shooting Stars?

Hello everyone!

So as many of you know I am currently in snowy Michigan! Today we took a plane directly from sunny SRQ to down right cold Detroit! And as per usual the airport experience was AWESOME! Just kidding. More like a pain in the ass. In my lifetime I've flown so many times. More than I can count. Especially to Detroit and especially with Delta. So today was supposed to be easy since I was doing both of my frequently used ways of travel right? Wrong-o. I got to the airport and that's where the mess started. Which led me to make this blog post to see if anyone else gets infuriated with these common airport occurrences.

1. Bitchy Desk Attendants
While I understand that your job is not glamorous and everyone has their bad days, every single delta rep today was bitchy and had an attitude until they realized who they were dealing with. Starting with me not getting the seat I Pre-picked three months ago so I could sit with my family. I get it, things change and I'm not going to die not sitting by my mommy at my age but they didn't even have a seat assigned for me. They pretty much said "better get here early and go to the gate to be sure you get a spot on our fully booked flight!" So that's what I did. Then I get rude McGee number two who before I even ask a question tells me "if you're looking for a seat assignment you need to wait til 1:10". I said okay and left without any attitude then went back at 1:10 (which makes me wonder why I had to get there SO early) and then got told if you're waiting for a seat assignment we will call you up individually. Okay communication skills = 0. So I waited. Of course it was "Now calling Olivia............ Um...... J.... J..." Until I screamed JUOLA! Sheesh! Yup I was crabby by then. Finally I got a seat.

2. Bitches who dress super nice at the airport for no reason
This is just pointless and weird. If you aren't going to meet someone for work or you're not JLo, why are you dressing up to sit on a crowded airplane.

3. People who fly first class and have to make it known to EVERYONE
This lady walks up to the ticket counter where her husband was waiting in line and said "honey, sit down this line is for NORMAL people, WE have first class tickets and are priority members" bitch please the airport world does not revolve around you. Oh wait, it kind of does. Amurricah the land where you can pay your way out of everything.

4. People who are rude to parents that have screaming children on airplanes
It is not the parents fault. Until you have traveled with 5 year old Reegan you do not understand how out of control a child can be and sometimes you just have to let them cry it out. Turning around and saying "can you do something?" To the frantic mother who is already shhhing her child and rocking him will not help the situation at all besides further embarrassing the parent. Buy some headphones.

and that concludes my airport ranting post. For now I'm going to bundle up and get some sleep before tomorrow comes!

Stay warm,
-Olivia

I'll Provide the Beauty, You Provide the Beat

Hello all,

So I have been thinking about what to do for another blog post that people would enjoy, and since I recently went to Jingle Ball and had an awesome experience I decided to do something along the lines of concerts I've been to, ranking them by different subjects new or old concert goers may want to hear. . On another note Jingle Ball was incredible and totally worth the billion dollars I spent for the tickets. Anyways, first here is a list of all the people I have seen and all of the concert halls I have been to in more recent years:

1. Justin Bieber, Ke$ha, One Republic, Ed Sheeran, Sean Kingston, Zedd, Walk the Moon, Austin Mahone- Tampa Bay Times Forum, Tampa FL
2. Jack's Mannequin, Cobra Starship, Twenty One Pilots, ANEW- USF Meadows, Tampa FL
3. You Me at Six and Mayday Parade- State Theatre, St. Pete FL
4. Blink 182 and My Chemical Romance- Ford Ampitheatre, Tampa FL
5. 3oh!3- USF Meadows, Tampa FL
6. Mayday Parade, Breathe Carolina, Every Avenue, Artist vs. Poet, Go Radio, American Secrets- State Theatre
7. New Politics, Neon Trees, 30 Seconds to Mars- USF Meadows, Tampa FL
8. 3oh!3, Cobra Starship, Travie Mccoy, I Fight Dragons- House of Blues, Orlando FL
9. 30 Seconds to Mars, Panic at the Disco, The Used, Anberlin, Rise Against, Chevelle, Metric, Cage the Elephant, Matisyahu- Ford Ampitheatre, Tampa FL
10. Metro Station, Boys Like Girls, Good Charlotte, The Maine- House of Blues, Orlando FL

The first ranking I thought would be important is "Best Atmosphere- Concert Hall". For sure the best atmosphere would be House of Blues in Orlando. The whole place just feels full of energy and both times that I have been there they've done a great job with every aspect to make it a good time. Also its in Downtown Disney, making it even more special to me since I am a huge Disney World fan.

The second ranking I thought of was best "Special Effects". This was for sure a tie between Good Charlotte and Justin Bieber. Between Good Charlotte's laser sequences and Justin Bieber's fireworks and smoke, they tie for first in the Special Effects category. 

The next ranking I thought of would be "Most Comfortable" as far as concert halls. This for sure would go to  the Tampa Bay Times Forum. Their cushioned seats made it so much more comfortable than standing or sitting on a lawn through a four hour show. So they definitely win. 

Have you ever been to a show where the person you paid to see sounds nothing like they do on your iTunes library? Yes, its happened to all of us. Fortunately I have had some amazing experiences and when it all comes down to it "The Best Performer-Voice" is in terms of how they sound live related to how they sound on iTunes or the radio. For sure without a doubt the band who sounded the most like themselves for EVERY song would have to go to Panic! at the Disco. 

Last but not least. I obviously have to do "Best Overall Performance". This was so hard for me as pretty much EVERY concert I have been to has been worth my time an has been amazing. But I have to give it to my 17th birthday concert at my favorite hall House of Blues-Orlando, when I got to meet Nathaniel Mott. 3oh!3 is definitely the winner hands down. Although J. Biebs came in a pretty close second, nothing will change that awesome moment when I got to meet a member of my favorite band. 

(ew I know my hair what the heck was I thinking) but this was ALL worth it. Such a cool experience and such a good guy! 

So that completes my list of Bests for concerts I've attended. If you are looking to go to a show, any of the halls I've been to are great but if you want a good atmosphere go to House of Blues, looking for comfort? go to the Times Forum.

Thanks for reading,

Olivia

Photo credits go to google images, 93.3FLZ, and myself of course :)